Dead Man's Cruise
by wendystwin
Summary: Sequel to CotCS. Nearly a year later, Melody and Wendy Parks are still in the 18th century Caribbean. As new memories begin to replace their old ones, they begin to fear that they'll never find their way back to their own time. DMC spoilers!
1. Returning to the Story

Dead Man's Cruise

Chapter One

_Returning to the Story_

_**Eternal Silver Flame's Author's Note:** We're back! I'm going to be known as ESF from here on out, because Eternal Silver Flame is really a nightmare to type out. Also, I'm gonna warn you now. If you haven't read _Curse of the Cruise Ship_, stop now and go read it. It's on wendystwin's profile. If you don't, you'll be horribly confused. Just to remind you, _Curse of the Cruise Ship _was set in 1729. DO NOT take that as canon! It's totally an educated guess on my part, since the Golden Age of Piracy in the Caribbean ended in the 1730s (according to Wikipedia). _

_I knew I had given you a date that I would put this up, but I had forgotten what I'd told you, so I had to go look through everything to find it. See, I was worried I had told you the 6th, but I couldn't get hold of wendystwin yesterday (when I remembered that I had written this chapter already). Luckily, I had told you the 7th! Yay! So, here it is, as promised, "Dead Man's Cruise"! Don't forget to review! _

_Is anyone else really angry that there aren't any deleted scenes on the Dead Man's Chest DVD? I liked the bloopers though. Hehehe. Crocodile machine... _

_**wendystwin's Author's Note:** Hello people! Read "Dead Man's Cruise"! It's better than the first, much cooler! So read up and happy holidays! _

_**Disclaimer:** Disney owns everything including most of the plot. ESF and wendystwin own Melody, Wendy, two other characters (don't want to spoil anything), and their part of the plot. If you can't tell which plot is Disney's and which is ours, then I don't know what you're doing reading _Pirates of the Caribbean _fan fiction. Also, the theory on Anamaria's disappearance from the story belongs to our good buddy Amanda! _

_**Summary:** Sequel to Curse of the Cruise Ship. Nearly a year later, Melody and Wendy Parks are still in the 18th century Caribbean. As new memories begin to replace their old ones, they begin to fear that they'll never find their way back to their own time. DMC spoilers!_

* * *

Gibbs's drunken singing drifted up to the crow's nest. 

"Fifteen men on the dead man's chest...Yo ho ho, and a bottle of rum...Drink and the devil had done for the rest...Yo ho ho, and a bottle of rum!" He laughed drunkenly, and Melody Parks giggled quietly. Gibbs was so funny when he was _really_ drunk.

A bell tolled loudly, and the two of them looked out across the water.

She was up in the crow's nest with her twin sister, Wendy. Their job was to keep an eye out for their captain, Jack Sparrow. He'd snuck into a Turkish prison to retrieve, in the words of Jack, an item of valuable nature. But they could barely see five feet out, as the fog was thick.

It had been nearly a year since Melody and Wendy joined Captain Sparrow's crew aboard the _Black Pearl_. The life of a pirate was hard, especially serving under Jack Sparrow. Commodore Norrington had been chasing them everywhere they went. They hadn't seen him since that hurricane in Tripoli, which was a port city in Libya on the southern coast of the Mediterranean Sea.

True to their word, they quickly learned how to sail. Anamaria, God rest her soul, had taught the girls the most and commented that they were learning to sail quicker than she'd ever seen. They'd lost her in the hurricane while the crew had been trying to secure the _Pearl_ in Tripoli. She'd fallen overboard while tying up a sail, and by the time Jack had brought her to shore, she had already passed on. She was given a burial at sea, as it seemed appropriate. Anamaria had also taught them quite a bit about sword fighting. They didn't learn it as quickly as they had sailing, but they were good enough to hold their own against the drunks in Tortuga.

Soon after they joined Jack's crew, their memories began to change. They were forgetting more and more of their lives in the 21st century (mostly details about the second _Pirates_ movie), and began remembering things that had happened before they had woken up in Port Royal. They had decided that they had been "dropped" into a previous life, since the things they were remembering had definitely not happened to them.

They were identical twins, as they'd suspected, and had been orphaned at birth in Ireland. Soon after, they had been adopted by an English couple who were unable to have children of their own. They named the girls (who had not yet been named) Jessica (Melody) and Lacy (Wendy) Williams. When the girls turned five, their foster parents brought them to the Caribbean, where they bought a small house in Kingston, a small town on the southern coast of Jamaica. They lived there happily for five years, until their town was attacked by a ship with black sails. The memory of the attack was much more vivid than anything else they had remembered about Jessica and Lacy. They had been sitting down to dinner with their mother and father...

_I was reaching for my fork when an explosion rocked the small house, causing Father to knock over his glass of wine. A hush fell over us, and we listened as the distinct sound of cannon fire sounded from the bay. Father stood. _

_"What is it, Peter?" Mother asked, standing as well. _

_I had never seen Father so serious. "Extinguish all the candles and keep the children away from the windows," he told her. He went to the hall closet and took out his rifle. _

_Lacy and I began to get scared. "Where are you going, Father?" I asked. _

_He smiled reassuringly. "I'll be back, sweethearts. Take care of your mother." With that, he shared a look with mother and was gone. _

_We helped mother extinguish all the candles. When Mother went back to the bedrooms, Lacy and I looked out the window, and were horrified at what we saw. _

_Kingston was under attack. _

_The ship sitting in the bay looked scary. The hull was dark, maybe even black. The sails were black tatters. How did it sail? They continued to watch as the ship lowered longboats into the water and the crew began rowing to shore. _

_"Get away from there!" Mother said harshly, and we jumped. She pulled us away from the window and shut the curtains._

Melody shuddered at the memory. It had been the _Black Pearl_ that attacked Kingston. Judging by the time and the nature of the attack, Barbossa had been captain at the time, and they'd been searching for the medallions. Their father had been killed fighting the cursed pirates, and they were forced to hide under the bed while two or three pirates killed their mother and took all their valuables. They ran away, not wanting to be adopted again, as they thought no one could replace the parents who had loved and cared for them all their lives. They went to Tortuga, and there they learned to sail with various pirate crews, always returning to Tortuga every few months. They never returned to Kingston.

That was all Melody and Wendy remembered. They couldn't remember why or how Jessica and Lacy showed up in Port Royal.

A gunshot rang out, startling the girls. They looked down to the deck. The rest of the crew were gathered in a huddle, talking quietly. It definitely hadn't been them. Perhaps Jack was on his way? Melody looked out in the direction of the prison. She couldn't see anyone, but the fog was starting to clear up a bit. Not by much, though. At least now they could see the water.

"How much longer, Mel?" Wendy asked, getting impatient.

"I don't know any more than you do, remember Wendy?" said Melody, squinting into the fog. "I'm not even sure if the second movie's started yet."

She shivered and crossed her arms. "He's been gone for hours. Shouldn't he be back by now?"

Melody pulled out the silver spyglass she had gotten two months ago, in their last raid. They were running out of food, money, and rum, and the crew was getting antsy. Some said they weren't living up to the title of pirate, and a few were even considering mutiny. The girls were antsy as well, but mutiny was the last thing on their mind. They couldn't do that to Jack.

"Relax, sis," Melody said, wiping the condensation off the eyepiece with her shirt. "He won't just leave us here. Have a little faith." She looked through the spyglass. She could see a bit farther now, but saw no sign of Jack. But then something caught her eye. Someone was rowing toward the _Pearl_, but it was too small to be the longboat Jack had left in. Wait a minute.

"It's a coffin," said Melody.

Wendy looked at her strangely. "What?"

Melody handed her the spyglass and called down to the crew, uncertain of the correct phrase to use. "Um...coffin ho!" she called. "Off the starboard bow, heading for us!"

The crew looked at her, then at each other. Melody rolled her eyes as she began climbing down the rigging. "Now really, who else but Jack Sparrow would be rowing in a coffin?" She dropped down beside Gibbs, her sister following soon after.

"True," said Gibbs. The crew scattered, hurrying to finish up their duties before Jack returned. "Misses Parks – "

"Jeeze, Gibbs, we've known each other for nearly a year!" said Melody, giggling a bit. "Drop the formalities. It's Melody and Wendy, all right?"

Gibbs looked taken aback. "Yes, of course. Melody, Wendy," the girls nodded in approval, "the rest of the crew, myself included, think it's time we talk to Jack about not doing much pirating lately."

Their eyes narrowed. "We're not going to have any part in a mutiny against Jack," said Melody. "If that's what you're planning, then – "

"No, no, no, no, no! We just want to speak with him about it. Make him see it from our side. You two've been wanting to go on a raid as well."

The girls considered. "Fine," said Melody. "We can talk to him."

"But if there's even a hint of mutiny, you can count us out."

"Agreed," said Gibbs.

Melody headed over to the starboard side to see Jack climbing up. She held out a hand to help him aboard, but Jack handed her a rotting leg. She shrieked in alarm and threw it at Gibbs, who caught it awkwardly. "Not _quite_ according to plan," he said, examining the leg.

Cotton draped Jack's coat around him. "Complications arose, ensued, were overcome," said Jack, and he headed for the helm.

Gibbs handed the leg to Cotton and the four of them followed Jack.

"Then you got whatever it was you went in for?" asked Melody.

He turned and waved a bit of folded cloth in her face. "Mm-hmm!" He turned back around to find the rest of the crew looking at him expectantly.

"Captain," said Gibbs hastily, "I think the crew, meaning me as well, were expecting something a bit more..." he waved his fingers in front his face, "_shiny_. What with the Isla de Muerta going all pear-shaped, reclaimed by the sea and the treasure with it."

"And the Royal Navy chasing us all around the Atlantic," said Leech, and Indian pirate they had picked up in, well, India.

"And the hurricane!" said Marty. The crew agreed with a chorus of aye's. The twins shared a nervous look.

"We want to do some pirating, Captain," clarified Wendy. "It's been months since our last raid!"

Jack considered this. "Shiny?" he asked Gibbs.

"Aye, shiny."

"Is that how you're all feeling, then?" said Jack. "That perhaps dear old Jack is not serving your best interests as captain?"

"No, we just – " Melody began.

Cotton's parrot squawked. "Walk the plank!" Cotton quickly clamped a hand over its beak.

Jack whipped out his pistol and pulled back the hammer, aiming at the bird. "What did the bird say?!" he demanded, his voice rising in alarm.

"Do not blame the bird," said Leech. "Show us, what is on that piece of cloth there?"

Jack opened his mouth to answer, but before he could, the undead monkey dropped down in front of Jack and snarled. "Ah!" He tried to shoot the monkey, put his pistol misfired. The monkey dropped to the deck and grabbed the cloth from Jack's hand and ran off. Melody, who had to put up with the damned monkey stealing her tri-corner hat rather often, pulled out her pistol and shot the monkey. The monkey dropped the cloth and climbed up into the rigging.

"Thank you, Melody," said Jack.

She smiled as she put her gun away. "Any time, Jack."

"It's a key," said Marty, who had picked up the cloth.

"No!" said Jack. He hurried forward and took the cloth. "Much more better!" He held it up so everyone could see. "It is a drawing of a key." The crew walked forward to get a better look. Indeed it was, and a very odd looking key.

"Gentlemen, what – " Melody cleared her throat loudly. "Apologies, gentlemen and _ladies_, what do keys do?"

"Keys...unlock...tings?" said Leech, clearly not understanding why Jack had asked the question.

"And whatever this key unlocks," tried Gibbs, "_inside_ there's something valuable. So we're setting out to find whatever this key unlocks!"

Jack nodded, and Gibbs smiled. "No." Gibbs frowned. "If we don't have the key, we can't open whatever it is we don't have that it unlocks. So what purpose would be served in finding whatever need be unlocked, which we don't have, without first having found the key what unlocks it?"

"So we're going to look for the key?" asked Melody, proud that she had actually followed what Jack had said.

He gave her a look. "You're not making any sense at all." Melody's face fell, and Jack looked around. "Any more questions?"

"So...do we have a heading?" asked Marty.

"Hah! A heading!" He pulled out his compass. "Set sail in a..." he faltered. "...in a general...that-way direction!" He said, pointing toward the cliff.

"Cap'n?" said Gibbs, worried for what sanity Jack normally had.

"Come on, snap to and make sail, you know how this works." Jack headed for the bow. "Oi, oi, oi! Oh, and girls," he said as he passed Melody and Wendy, "up in the nest when there's fog, you know."

"I'm kinda worried, Mel," said Wendy, as she and her sister climbed up to the crow's nest. "Jack didn't seem too sure of the heading."

"Compass must be on the fritz," Melody guessed, "or Jack doesn't know what he wants. And that could be bad for all of us."


	2. Pelegosto: Part I

Dead Man's Cruise

Chapter Two

_Pelegosto: Part I_

_**ESF's Author's Note:** Just a word of caution, there are naughty words in this chapter. Also, sorry about how long this chapter is. It was originally twice as long, but I decided to cut it in half and make two chapters. You're welcome. Please forgive me if Jack is really OOC. He's so unpredictable that it's hard to write his character properly. _

_I'm probably going to get death threats for this chapter. Hopefully, this'll keep you from hating me completely: there are no romantic pairings whatsoever with Melody in this series. Sorry, but it's true. _

_I love when Jack tells the crew not to turn back for his hat, then they all look at Gibbs like, "Jack's finally completely lost it. Now what?" Hehehe. Always makes me giggle! _

_Sorry if this chapter sucks. It's really not my favorite. _

_**wendystwin's Author's Note:** Jell-O is good, ya'll should eat it. Yup. That's all. _

_**Disclaimer:** The only Jell-O that belongs to me are the boxes in the kitchen drawer. We don't own any llamas, either. Darn. There's more disclaimer at the end, to save you from spoilers._

* * *

Two nights later, Wendy was having a rather pleasant dream about llamas and Jell-O. 

"On deck all hands!" said one of the llamas, with Jack voice.

"Why?" Wendy moaned, waving the llama away with one hand. "I want to finish my Jell-O. It's orange."

"Make fast the bunt gasket!"

"What the fuck does that mean? Leave me alone!"

"Wendy! Get UP!" came Melody's voice, and Wendy suddenly found herself on the floor of the crew's quarters. Melody had untied her hammock.

"I want movement!" Jack was yelling. "Lift the skin up! Keep your loof!"

"What's going on?" Wendy asked, picking herself up and taking in all the commotion.

"I don't know," said Melody, shoving her hat on her head, "but it sounds urgent."

Seconds later, they were on deck, and there was pandemonium. It was still dark, maybe three in the morning, and there was a thick fog. The crew, most of them half-dressed, were getting the _Pearl_ ready to move, and they spotted Jack and Gibbs standing by the main mast (Jack looked more like he was hiding), and hurried over.

"Jack!" exclaimed Melody. "Gibbs! What's going on?"

"We're running," said Jack. He ducked down. The girls shared a worried look. Could it be the kraken?

"Our heading?" Gibbs asked.

"Land!" He ducked down below the base of the mast. He rose again to see Melody, Wendy, and Gibbs looking at him questioningly. He jumped. "Oh! Euh!"

"Which port?" asked Gibbs.

"Didn't say port. Said land. Any land."

The monkey suddenly dropped down and swiped Jack's hat. "Argh!" The monkey snarled at him, and Jack hissed back. Melody drew hew pistol, but she was too late; the monkey threw Jack's hat overboard.

"Jack's hat!" exclaimed Gibbs, running to the rail. "Bring 'er about!"

"No no!" said Jack. "Leave it! Run!"

The entire crew, including the girls, stared at Jack in shocked disbelief. They all looked at Gibbs, wondering what to do, now that Jack had apparently completely lost what little sanity he had in the first place.

"Back to your stations!" ordered Gibbs finally. "The lot o' ya!"

The girls followed Gibbs under the stairs to the helm, where Jack was standing rather stiffly. "Jack?" said Gibbs quietly.

"Shh!" shushed Jack.

"For the love of mother and child, Jack, what's coming after us?"

Jack didn't look at any of them. "Nothing." He spotted the girls behind Gibbs. "You two. Up to the nest. Any hint of land or sails, yell. Loud."

Wendy was confused, and she could tell Melody was too, but they didn't dare question him. Not when he was acting like this. "Aye, sir," they said together, and immediately headed up the rigging. Melody pulled out her spyglass and began searching the horizon.

"Mel?" said Wendy, extremely nervous. "Do you think it's the kraken?" That was one of the two things they remembered from the movie. Davy Jones was after Jack with the kraken, and that Jack's compass showed what you wanted most in this world.

Melody sighed. "It's possible." She looked slightly to the south, and then put away the spyglass. "Stay up here and keep an eye out for ships. JACK!" she yelled, and began climbing down the rigging. "I see an island directly off the stern!" She found Jack still under the stairs, and Gibbs was up at the helm.

"How far?"

"Not sure, but it's the only one I can see."

"Any ships?"

"None."

"Tell Gibbs to head there. Fast."

She relayed the message to Gibbs. "I don't see any land, lass."

"It's way out there," said Melody, handing him her spyglass.

Once he saw it, he sighed. "Lord Almighty." He gave the spyglass back to her. "Hard to starboard!" he shouted to the crew, and the message echoed up and down the ship. As the ship straightened out, Melody heard her sister yelling.

"JACK!" Wendy jumped down from the rigging. "There's sails on the horizon, behind – er – dead ahead!"

Jack finally left his hiding place under the stairs and ran up to the navigation deck. Directly ahead of them and to the left, they could see another ship heading towards them. Jack seemed to relax, but only slightly. "Oh, good," he said. "It's just a Navy ship."

Gibbs, Wendy, and Melody all looked at him in surprise. "'Just a Navy ship'?" Wendy repeated incredulously. "Jack, what could be worse than a Navy ship?"

"You have no idea," he said, and returned to his hiding place. Melody and Wendy shared a worried look.

They reached the island quickly, and tied the _Pearl_ down on the sandy beach. Jack seemed more relaxed now that they were on land, and he sent four or five men into the dense jungle on the island to scope out where they were.

It had been almost an hour after sending them in, when Melody and Wendy saw a group of people exit the jungle, running straight for the _Pearl_. But none of them were the crewmen Jack had sent in. They all had very dark skin, and were wearing loincloths and the like. They didn't look too friendly, as most of them were carrying spears. The girls looked around, panicking slightly. Jack and the rest of the crew had not yet noticed.

"Jack!" Wendy shouted, as she and her sister ran for him.

"What?" Jack responded. Both girls pointed frantically at the approaching mob of natives. He saw them, and his expression quickly turned horrified. "Oh bugger. I thought this place looked familiar." He turned back to the rest crew. "HIDE!" he shouted, waving his arms about frantically. "Below deck!"

Everyone quickly scrambled. "Who are they?" asked Melody. "Why are we hiding?"

"They are the Pelegostos," Jack told them. "Cannibals."

The girls looked at each other in horror. Cannibals?

They followed Jack down to the holds where they hid behind a stack of crates. The rest of the crew had hidden elsewhere, as no one else was there. For a few minutes, there was nothing but silence. Then, they heard dozens of pairs of feet above them, probably on the top deck. Then the footsteps began to descend into the ship. Suddenly, Jack looked like he had an idea.

"Whatever happens, stay on the ship and keep quiet," he told them, and he stepped out from behind the crates just a native entered the hold. The girls stayed silent and watched. The native got very excited when he saw Jack, and greeted him enthusiastically in a language Melody and Wendy didn't understand.

"My child!" he exclaimed, and began speaking to him in the same language the native had used. They conversed for about a minute, and then they headed off. Jack turned back to them when the native wasn't looking and mouthed, "Stay." Then they were gone.

In a few minutes, the footsteps above them silenced. Wendy went to stand up, but Melody pulled her back down. "Wait, make sure they're gone," she said quietly. They waited about five minutes more, and when they were sure the natives were gone, they headed above deck. They searched the ship as they went, checking for stray natives and remaining crew members, but they found no one. The ship was deserted.

"They're gone," said Wendy, stating the obvious. "What do we do now?"

"Follow Jack's orders," said Melody. "What else?"

"We can't stay here! We're low on food and rum!"

"You don't like rum."

Wendy glared, and then changed the subject. "How do you think Jack knew their language?"

"He's been here before, don't you remember? 'And then they made me their chief.'"

"Oh. So what should we do?"

Melody shrugged. "What else is there to do, except sit and wait for a ship to pass the island?"

And so they sat, and waited, until Melody spoke up about twenty minutes later.

"I have to go to the bathroom."

Her sister gave her a strange look. "Then go, you know where it is."

Melody wrinkled her nose, thinking about the ship's toilet. "I don't want to use that thing, it smells like it hasn't been cleaned since Jack first became captain! And that was, what? Twelve, thirteen years ago?"

Wendy rolled her eyes. "Then what do you expect to do, then?"

"I'll go behind a tree."

Her eyes widened. "You can't leave, Jack said to stay here!"

"I'll only be gone a minute," she said, standing up.

"But what if – " began Wendy, but Melody interrupted her.

"Keep to the Code. If something happens, like if the natives catch me, stay on the ship and don't let them see you."

Wendy bit her lip nervously. "Are you sure you wouldn't rather go on the ship?"

"Very sure. Have you smelled that thing lately?"

Melody only went two or three feet in to the jungle and relieved herself behind a tree. When finished, she pulled up her pants and turned around to head back to the ship. And screamed.

A native was standing behind her. Before she could do anything else, he held up a wooden tube of some sort and blew through it. She felt a sharp pain in her neck before everything went black.

* * *

**With Wendy, a few minutes earlier**

Wendy had a bad feeling as she watched her sister head into the jungle. A very, very bad feeling. She bounced on the balls of her feet nervously while she watched the edge of the jungle, praying that Melody would come out in one piece. However, her hopes were dashed when she heard Melody scream. For a moment, Wendy considered heading into the jungle to help her, but decided against it. She was a pirate, after all, and had to honor the Code and Melody's wish for her to stay with the _Pearl_.

She waited for nearly an hour more, hoping that she'd been hearing things and Melody would come out all right, but no luck.

"JACK!"

Wendy jumped, startled. That sounded like Will! _Was_ she hearing things?

"JACK SPARROW!"

She ran to the railing and looked down. Sure enough, there was Will, looking around. She grinned, happy to see him. "Will! Will Turner!"

He looked up and saw her. He paused. "Melody Parks?"

"No, I'm Wendy."

"I'm looking for Jack, where is he?"

Wendy pointed at the jungle. "In there. But I don't think you should – " But Will was already hurrying away. She glared at his retreating back. "Fine!" she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Ignore the lady pirate!"

* * *

**With Melody, twelve minutes after being captured**

Melody had the distinct feeling she was hanging upside-down. She opened her eyes. She was tied to a bamboo pole by her wrists and ankles. Carrying the pole were two cannibals. She was horrified.

"Please don't eat me!" she told them, and they looked down at her. "Really, I don't taste all that great!" They looked at each other in confusion. Of course they didn't understand English. "Oh, God. How 'bout, uh..." she tried to think back to her high school Spanish classes. "¿Tú no comes me?" More confusion. She sighed, annoyed, and fell silent.

She looked around at the surroundings. She grimaced at the human skulls on sticks lining the path they were on, and hoped that her skull wouldn't end up a very unpopular state fair food. Finally, they entered a clearing and stopped. Melody turned her head rather painfully to see none other than her captain sitting on a throne decorated with more human skulls. He was wearing a feathery crown and there were eight eyes painted on his face, and two of them were on his eyelids, which were shut. He apparently _had_ been made chief.

She tried not to laugh at his funny appearance. "_Jack_?"

His eyes snapped open. For a split second, he looked surprised to see her, but then his face turned emotionless as he stood up. He said something to the natives, and they responded.

"What are you saying, Jack?" asked Melody. "Please don't let them eat me!"

He glanced at her briefly, and then said something else to the natives. Melody bit her lip, wishing she knew what they were saying. Then he said something she understood: "Savvy?"

The cannibals nodded and repeated a word Jack had said. Then they let her down. Thoroughly confused, she looked at Jack questioningly, rubbing her wrists where they'd been bound. The majority of the natives left.

"What did you tell them?" she asked, following him over to his throne. He didn't answer, and sat down. Melody stood in front of him expectantly. Suddenly, Jack reach out and pulled her onto his lap. She gasped. "Jack! What are you – ?" She was cut off as her kissed her.

Instantly, her mind went into overdrive, a million thoughts racing through her mind. _Oh my God, I'm kissing Johnny Depp! No, no, it's Jack Sparrow. Completely different. And he's kissing me, actually. Ha ha! God, I'm such a fan girl! Oh, I shouldn't be doing this, this is so Mary-Sue. But I'm kissing Jack Sparrow! Might as well enjoy it, shouldn't I?_ She then began kissing him back, and a few seconds later, Jack pulled away.

"I claimed you as my mate," he said quickly, looking as though he expected to get slapped.

Slightly dazed from the kiss, she blinked, and forced herself to snap out of it. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I claimed you as my mate," he repeated.

She frowned. "And you meant it in a completely platonic way, right?"

"If you mean platonic in the same way that kiss was meant to look, then yes."

It took a moment for this to register in her still cloudy mind. "WHAT?!" she shrieked, causing a few natives to look their way.

"Now, love, you're the one who said you didn't want to get eaten."

"So you told them I'm your mate?!"

Jack sighed. "Yes, I did. Would you rather be hanging in a cage made of the bones of your former crew mates, thousands of feet above the ground?"

She blinked. "Former?"

He nodded. "They ate some of the crew to make cages for the rest." Melody was shocked. "So I thought you'd prefer posing as my lover to the cage..." he waved a hand around, searching for a proper term, "...thing."

She frowned. She was posing as Jack Sparrow's lover. This was just about the craziest thing that had ever happened to her, including actually being in the 18th century Caribbean. She sighed. "That's true," she said, leaning back against his shoulder. "Captain Sparrow, you are the most unpredictable man I've ever met."

"Why thank ye, love," he said, putting an arm around her. "As are you." She glanced at him, confused. "I expected you to stay on the ship like I told you."

Melody winced. "I had to go to the bathroom."

"There's a – "

"I know! But that thing smells terrible, and I don't use it if I don't have to. So I went in the jungle. I was about to head back when I ran into a cannibal."

He nodded, considering her story. "So if we get off this island alive, you'll be the one to clean out the toilet for disobeying my orders?"

She opened her mouth to protest, but then shut it when she saw the stern look on Jack's face. "Wait, what do you mean 'if'? Don't you have an escape plan?"

"'Course I do! I'm just waiting for the opportune moment."

Melody rolled her eyes. "What is it, run like hell when they turn their backs?"

He stared at her. "Of course," he said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Melody scoffed and looked away. "Figures."

Jack watched her for a moment. "You enjoyed that kiss, didn't you?"

She turned back to see him smirking. She stared at him, trying as best she could to keep from blushing. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't, Jack," she said honestly.

He smirked slightly. "So would I, love." He leaned towards her.

A throat cleared. The two of them turned around quickly and saw another mob of natives with someone else tied to a bamboo pole, unconscious. This time it was Will Turner. Melody's mouth fell open, completely speechless. This was the last place she expected to meet Will again.

One of the natives said something, which was repeated by the rest. Jack looked down at Will, who then woke up. He quickly focused in on Jack.

"Jack?" he asked. He didn't answer. "Jack Sparrow!" Will laughed a bit. "I can honestly say I'm glad to see you!" Will then seemed to realize that Melody was sitting on Jack's lap. He looked incredibly confused, but didn't comment on it.

Jack motioned for Melody to get up and she did. He stood up and walked over to Will. He poked his shoulder as if testing how much meat he had. Melody noticed. "Don't you dare, Jack!" He ignored her and walked to the first native.

"Jack, it's me. Will Turner!"

He ignored Will as well, and spoke to the native, who replied, bowing his head.

"Tell them to let me down!"

Jack said something that was definitely about Will. He then kneeled by Will's rear. "Lam say-say...eunuchy. Snip-snip." Melody rolled her eyes, actually understanding the slur on Will's manhood. Jack began to walk away as the natives repeated the word 'eunuchy.'

"Jack!" said Will suddenly. "The compass! That's all I need, Elizabeth is in danger. We were arrested for trying to help you! She faces the gallows!"

Melody gasped, but didn't say anything. Jack stopped and turned back. He said some more stuff. "Savvy? Ball licky-licky."

The mob cheered and began chanting. He whispered something to Will as they carried him off.

"Jack, what did you tell them?" Jack walked back to his throne. "No! What about Elizabeth? Jack! Melody!"

Once he was gone, Melody resumed her place on Jack's lap. "Where are they taking him?"

"To the cage I told you about earlier." She gave him a look. "What? I'm not about to claim _him_ as my mate too!"

* * *

_**Disclaimer, Part 2:** I have to say this, otherwise I'll feel really bad. I got the idea of Jack claiming Melody as his "mate" from another fan fiction, but unfortunately, I can't remember the author or the title of the story. If it was yours, let me know, and I'll disclaim it properly. Thanks!_


	3. Pelegosto: Part II

Dead Man's Cruise

Chapter Three

_Pelegosto: Part II_

_**ESF's Author's Note:** Here's part two. It's only slightly shorter than part one. Ooh, this chapter contains a bit of badass Wendy. Yay! And NO, this will not turn out to be a romance fic. Sorry if you were hoping for it. _

_Also, I'm terribly sorry about the horribly long wait. Most of it you can blame on my recent obsession with the sixties and the Monkees. The rest you can blame on school, which is a stone drag. Wow. I never get to use that phrase, "stone drag." I'm gonna try to use it more often. Hehehe. _

_I happened to like "Never mind, let's go!" (from the trailer) better than "Time to go!" (from the movie), so that's why I used it instead. We can say Melody and Wendy changed it by being there. _

Lydia Sparrow: _Overly obsessed fans unite! _

Noyesgirl: _Much thanks for your review, my friend! _

irishpiratess: _Aw, thanks! I really think I'm better at writing self-inserts than anything else. I've written a Harry Potter self-insert series if you're interested. It's on my author's page (Eternal Silver Flame). Also, wendystwin and I really like your pen name. _

Nausicaa of the Spirits: _Thank you twice for reviewing! I'm glad you're enjoying it so much! _

ponysteph: _I am a bit cruel, aren't I? Anamaria was one of my favorite characters too, but it had to be done. Our buddy Amanda gave me the idea, and since I haven't yet seen it used in fan fiction, I just had to go with it. _

_**wendystwin's Author's Note:** Everybody, I hate the winter. It sucks, and so do vacuums. Hahaha._

* * *

**With Wendy, twenty minutes later**

Wendy was pacing back and forth on the deck of the _Pearl_. She had been alone on the ship for nearly an hour, and had become even more nervous with each passing minute, especially ever since Will had gotten himself captured as well. Even shooting that damned monkey hadn't calmed her down. She kept getting this odd feeling. She was sure it was an identical twin thing, as she knew it had something to do with Melody. But the fact that she didn't know if it was good or bad was only making her more anxious.

She thought she heard a dog bark, followed by a splash. She ignored it. What use would a dog be in helping her sister?

Then she heard laughing. "Stupid mongrel!"

Now that was a human voice. She ran to the railing and looked down and saw a dog. It was the dog with the keys from Port Royal! Wondering who had brought it there, she looked out at the water in time to see a small boat holding two people get capsized in a wave. Unsure if they were friend or foe, she ducked down and pulled out her pistol. She checked to make sure it was loaded, and it was.

"Come on!" yelled a slightly familiar voice. She looked down to the water's edge to see two men walking on the shore. They were laughing. "It's ours for the taking!" yelled the shorter man.

"Tide's comin' in, that should help," said the second, taller one. "Salvagin' is savin', in a manner of speakin'."

"There's the truth of it!"

Suddenly, the sound of drumming came from farther inland, and all three pirates looked toward the sound.

"Suppose we be'er...save it as soon as we can," said the taller man, pausing near one of the mooring lines. "What with our souls being in such a vulnerable state and all."

"Amen to that," said the other, crossing himself repeatedly.

The taller one began climbing up the line, and Wendy got ready. As soon as he set foot on deck, she stood up, aimed at the man and pulled back the hammer. "Hold it right there!" she ordered, sounding braver than she felt. The man froze. "Who are you?"

He held his hands up. "Ragetti, Miss. Please don't kill me!"

Wendy frowned. Something about this man was familiar. "You seem familiar, have I threatened you before?"

"What's goin' on up there, Ragetti?" his friend called.

"We got company!" Ragetti replied, not taking his eyes off the pistol aimed at him.

Soon, the other man joined Ragetti. He smirked. "Well, 'ello there, poppet."

She turned the gun on him. "Call me that again and you'll get a bullet between the eyes." He actually looked a little scared and put his hands up as well. She looked them over carefully, and something clicked. "Wait a minute, weren't you part of Barbossa's crew?"

They looked at each other. "You're that girl he had thrown overboard!" exclaimed the shorter one, whose name she suddenly remembered to be Pintel. Before she could react, they pulled out their own pistols and trained them on her.

She began to panic, but then realized the pistols were flintlock, and they gotten them wet. She smirked. "You've gotten your flash pans wet, gentlemen." They stared at her blankly. It was quite possible that they had no idea what a flash pan was. She rolled her eyes. "Therefore, your guns won't fire."

They must have known she was right, because then the two of them put their guns away, and drew their swords. Once again, they had her panicking, two swords at her throat. She swallowed. "Right then," she said nervously. "I assume you're here to take the _Pearl_, aye?" They nodded, smiling evilly. "Okay, I'll allow you to do so under two conditions."

"And what would those be?" asked Pintel.

She was sorely tempted to invoke parley, but she refrained. "Captain Sparrow ordered me to stay on the _Pearl_. Surely you understand loyalty to your captain?"

"Fine," said Pintel. "And the second condition?"

"I refuse to leave this island willingly without my sister, so I will not help you make sail."

He considered. "Fine." They lowered their swords, and Wendy uncocked her pistol. "Ragetti, start lettin' down the sails."

Wendy put her pistol back in her belt as she walked toward the bow. She looked out at the jungle, hoping her sister would be able to make it back before Ragetti and Pintel were able to get the _Pearl_ into the water.

* * *

**With Melody and Jack**

For the last ten minutes, a couple men had been beating on drums. Earlier, a native had placed a necklace of human toes around Jack's neck, and Melody tried as best she could not to turn her nose up at it. She didn't want to offend them. Jack had explained why they had made him chief. They thought he was a god or something and wanted to 'release him from his fleshy prison' by eating him.

Melody had scoffed at the idea. "A god? You?"

He looked rather offended. "You don't think I'm that bad-looking, do you?"

She looked him up and down, and then smirked. "Hmm. Not bad, for a pirate with six extra eyes painted on his face." In fact, Jack looked quite like Johnny Depp. Except Jack was really English, his hair wasn't a wig, and his pirate brand and scars were all real.

Now, the natives were building a fire. Apparently Jack didn't like how they were going about it.

"More wood!" exclaimed Jack, walking toward the fire, waving his arms about. Melody watched him, laughing at his antics. "Big fire! _Big_ fire! I am chief! Want big fire! Come on!" He said something in the language to the native standing next to the throne, and the native went to help build the fire. Jack looked around, and then grabbed Melody's hand and began to run.

Caught by surprise, she nearly tripped over her own feet, but managed to regain her balance, and ran with him. Then they halted when they nearly ran over the edge of a cliff. Jack looked around and he picked up one of the bamboo poles lying in a pile. Then he dropped it.

"Maybe there's some rope or something in there," suggested Melody, pointing at a hut.

"Good idea, lass," said Jack, and they went inside.

Melody wrinkled her nose. It smelled terrible, and there were blades, still red with blood, hanging from the ceiling. She could hear flies buzzing.

"Ah!" said Jack, and he picked up the coil of rope he'd spotted and put it over his shoulder. As he was about to leave, he spotted a can and picked it up.

"What is it?" Melody asked, looking over his shoulder.

"Paprika," he said. Then he turned and went back outside, still carrying the paprika. Melody went to follow him, but he flung out a hand and pushed her back into the hut. She opened her mouth to question him, but stopped when she heard him say, "Oh bugger."

She stayed silent, wondering what had gone wrong. Then it sounded like he was shaking the can of paprika. "Little seasoning, eh?"

She inhaled sharply. The cannibals must have found them.

There was a brief scuffle, and something flew through the door of the hut and hit her in the shin. She bit her lip to keep from crying out and alerting the natives to her presence. She looked down at the object.

It was Jack's compass.

Trying to stay as silent as possible, she bent down and picked it up, thoroughly confused. Why had Jack thrown his compass at her?

When silence finally fell outside, Melody peeked out cautiously. About half a dozen cannibals were heading back to the throne area. Jack, carried by a couple of them, was tied to a bamboo pole. She resisted the urge to go after him. She definitely couldn't take on a bunch of cannibals by herself.

She attached the compass to her belt, next to her sword. Did he want her to keep it safe for him until he was able to escape? That seemed to be the most logical reason. She looked around, and realized that she didn't know the way back to the _Pearl_.

_Great_, she thought. _Wendy's probably worried sick about me, and I don't know how to get back! Grr...I really, really want to get off this damn – _

She stopped, realizing something. She picked up the compass again. It showed you what you wanted most, if Melody remembered correctly, and what Melody wanted most at that moment was to get back to the ship.

She opened the compass. For a moment, the needle spun around very fast, and then settled in the direction Jack had been taken. Blushing a bit and knowing that wasn't right, she closed it and concentrated hard on wanting to get back to the ship. She opened it once more. Briefly, it pointed in Jack's direction, then slowly turned to point a different direction.

Hoping that it was pointing to the _Black Pearl_, Melody headed off.

* * *

**With Wendy, about fifteen minutes later**

Wendy was sick with worry. Melody and Will had not yet returned to the ship, and Pintel and Ragetti had been making a lot of progress getting the Pearl back into the water. She was starting to think she would have to leave the island without her sister.

Jack the Monkey seemed to actually be helping to slow them down by taking Ragetti's eye every once in a while. The first time he'd done this, Wendy had felt a bit bad for Ragetti, and shot the monkey, who dropped his eye. The next time, she'd realized that the monkey was trying to slow them down, and had pretended not to notice. Cotton's parrot had also showed up, and was now sitting on Wendy's shoulder.

Wendy was beginning to think that she would never see her sister again, when Melody finally returned.

"What are you doing?!" exclaimed Melody's voice. "Get out of my way!" There was a splash.

Wendy ran to the side and looked down. Sure enough, she was beginning to climb up. "Melody!" Wendy shouted joyously. She engulfed her sister in a hug as soon as she was on deck, and spoke very fast. "You're alive! Thank God! I was so worried! First you went and got captured, and then Will got captured, and then Pintel and Ragetti showed up, and what happened? Is that Jack's compass? Tell me what happened!"

For a moment, Melody didn't say anything. She stared at Wendy, then at Ragetti, down at Jack's compass, and then back to her sister.

Slowly, she began to smile. Then she giggled. And then she burst into such raucous laughter that Ragetti stopped trying to get his eye back from the monkey and turned to stare at her.

"Oh...my...God!" said Melody, between laughs. Wendy stared at her, open-mouthed. "You...you...won't believe...a...word...of it!"

"Try me," she said, growing even more curious.

"All – all right," said Melody as her laughter subsided. "But don't say I didn't warn you!"

She then proceeded to tell the story. Wendy didn't say anything until she was finished.

"So Jack kissed you?" she asked, and Melody nodded. "How was it?"

"Wendy!"

"What? I'm curious!"

Melody laughed slightly. "It's was pretty good, actually," she admitted.

Wendy smirked and raised an eyebrow. "I thought you would have been repulsed by his horrible breath?"

She rolled her eyes. "Wendy, we've been sailing with pirates for almost a year. You get used to pirate breath." Wendy laughed. "Besides, we haven't brushed our teeth in nearly a year. Our breath is probably nearly as bad."

"True."

"So," said Melody, watching as Ragetti ran after the monkey, "what's going on here?"

She sighed. "They're taking the _Pearl_. I refused to leave the ship, and I told them I wouldn't help them set sail without you. So unless Jack, Will, and the rest of the crew manage to escape the cannibals pretty soon, we're going to be stuck with them."

As if on cue, Gibbs's voice drifted up to them. "Excellent!" The girls hurried back to the rail. Gibbs, Will, and less than half the crew had arrived. "Our work's half-done!"

"We done it for you!" said Pintel. "Knowin' you'd be comin' back for it!"

"Make ready to sail, boys!" ordered Gibbs.

"What about Jack and Melody?" asked Will, and the rest of the crew looked back at him. "I won't leave without them!"

"I'm up here, Will!" called Melody, and everyone looked up at her. "But Jack's still – "

"Oi!"

Everyone turned. Farther up the beach, Jack came running around a corner. Melody smiled, relieved. But then the smile fell from her face as what looked like the entire tribe appeared behind him, yelling. "Damn," she muttered.

"Never mind, let's go!" said Will, and they made a mad dash for the _Pearl_.

"Cast off those lines!" yelled Gibbs, and the girls and Ragetti hurried to do so while the men climbed up.

Jack ran into the water just as the final sail was dropped, and Melody ran to the rail. "Hurry, Jack!" she yelled.

He managed to grab onto some netting on the _Pearl_ side. The natives stopped at the edge of the water, yelling.

"Alas, my children!" Jack called back to them. "This is the day you shall always remember as the day that you almost – " Just then, a large wave crashed into him, effectively cutting him off. "...Captain Jack...Sparrow," he finished lamely, and climbed up the _Pearl_. Melody gave him a hand up. "Do you have my compass, love?"

"Yes Jack," she said, handing it to him. "Thanks. So are you all right?"

"As well as can be expected."

"Oh, good." She slapped him, hard enough to rival Anamaria.

"Melody!" exclaimed Wendy, shocked.

"What the bloody hell was that for?!" exclaimed Jack angrily.

"You and your wandering hands!" she growled, and stomped off, heading for the crow's nest. Wendy stared after her, then sighed, not seeing any point in following. Jack just gaped at her retreating back.

Gibbs approached Jack. "Let's put some distance between us and this island, and head out to open sea."

"Yes to the first, yes to the second, but only insofar as we keep to the shallows as much as possible."

"That doesn't make any sense, Captain Sparrow," said Wendy.

"Neither does your sister," replied Jack. She gave him a look, which he ignored. "Now, where is that monkey, I want to shoot _something_!"

Jack pulled out his pistol and aimed at the monkey, which had dropped Ragetti's eye and was climbing up the rigging. Wendy was about to tell him the soaked pistol wouldn't fire, but Will approached them.

"Jack."

"Ah."

"Elizabeth is in danger."

Jack turned away and headed for the helm. "Have you considered keeping a more watchful eye on her? Maybe just lock her up somewhere?"

"She is locked up, in a prison, bound to hang for helping _you_!"

Wendy followed them, horrified. "To hang?" Will nodded grimly, and turned his attention back to Jack.

"There comes a time when one must take responsibility for one's mistakes," said Jack as he made his way up the stairs.

Will suddenly stopped, grabbed Wendy's sword from her belt, and pointed it at Jack. "Hey!" Wendy exclaimed.

"I need that compass of yours, Jack," said Will. "I must trade it for her freedom."

Jack stared at Will for a moment, and then pushed it aside. "Mister Gibbs!" Wendy took the opportunity to take her sword back from Will, glaring.

"Cap'n?"

"We have a need to travel upriver."

Gibbs looked more than a bit nervous. "By need, do you mean a...trifling need, a...fleeting, as in say a passing fancy?"

Jack stared at him. "No, a...resolute and unyielding need." Gibbs nodded, still looking worried, and Jack moved away.

Will followed. "What we need to do is make sail for Port Royal with all haste."

"William," said Jack, "I will trade you the compass if you will help me..." he pulled the drawing of the key out of his coat pocket and held it up for Will to see. "...to find this."

Will stared at it. "You want me to find this?" asked Will, pointing at the drawing.

"No. _You_ want you to find this. Because the finding of this finds you incapacitorially finding and/or locating and your discovering the detecting of a way to save your dolly belle ol'...what's-her-face. Savvy?"

Will paused, possibly as confused as Wendy was. "This...is going to save Elizabeth?"

Jack paused. "How much do you know about Davy Jones?"

Wendy's eyes widened, horrified. This was it! Davy Jones _was_ after Jack! She quickly hid her horror. Luckily, neither Will or Jack had noticed.

"Not much."

Jack looked away from him. "Yeah, it's going to save Elizabeth."

Wendy swallowed. "So, where is it we're going, Captain?"

"To see an old friend of mine," he replied, his face unreadable. Wendy nodded and excused herself, hurrying to tell her sister what she'd heard.


End file.
